Yesterday, everyone was totally
relaxed, since the "basho" was over. We
left the hotel at 9 am for the Dead Sea, a ride that usually takes
about two and a half hours. The rikishi, who, as mentioned, were on an
incredibly tight schedule, asked for some time to go shopping, so we
stopped in Beer Sheva for an hour of shopping at the mall. We finally
arrived at around 13:00, to the sight of at least 20 TV crews from all
over the world- for this was the big story of the visit-will they float
or not???
First, they hit the pool, and were like kids in an
amusement park, throwing each other around and stuff (video will
follow). Moto-Yokozuna Kotozakura
jumped into the pool and swam for a long while
as well. Then,the big event- led by the Israeli Ambassador to Japan Eli
Cohen (this whole trip was his brain-child)- they entered the
Dead Sea.
And- yes..they floated, all of them. Oyakata struck the customary "I'm
holding a newspaper with both hands while floating on my back" pose.
Then, some mud treatment. The media went wild.
After that, a short
shopping spree at the "Ahava" mineral cosmetics outlet, and a long
three hour drive for the farewell dinner, where presents were exchanged.
This
morning, the goodbyes at the airport. It was quite nice to be able to
chat with moto-Yokozuna Kotozakura
for quite a while, as the others
were busy
with the check-in routine. We bid our farewells, and went our
respective ways.
It was fun.

Well, tonight was why life is so
great. All those hours spent
by the computer translating, reading, watching and learning culminated
into what is surely the best day of my life,
and I've been around for quite a while..
The
Caesaria amphitheater was manin-sold out-packed. 4000+ people.
Unbelievable. Sumo is non-existent here-only a handful of followers.
Yet, the intensive PR brought the people. I can't even tell you that I
felt as if I was in a dream, since I never dared to dream that such a
day will ever come. I got to do the explanations, the dohyo-iri (in
Hebrew..)and I was delighted to see that some of my ideas were
implemented after all (matta,niramiai, monoii..). The tomoesen
(playoff) was
between the three sekitori. Then, we were treated to a very long
tomoesen with incredible bouts.The crowd was totally beside itself,
as the announcer and I egged them all on. Suddenly, I just
blurted out
that former Yokozuna Kotozakura
was with us. The crowd burst out with
some loud applause, to which the ex-Oyakata responded by standing up
from his wheelchair and waving. The whole scene was surreal and quite
moving. Here were at least 3980 people who had no idea who he was, yet
could feel he was someone special in Sumo..
In the end, Kotooushuu
won. Then, I was called on to the dohyo to do the yusho interview!! I
don't remember much, except Kotooushuu's
smiling face.
The show ended at
23:00. Good night? Not in Israel. We all went to a restaurant, and I
got back a few minutes ago, i.e around 2:30 am. The guys were in a
great mood, as the Serious Sumo was now behind them, and some heavy
eating and drinking ensued.
In 6 hours, we leave for the Dead Sea, then a farewell dinner party,
then the airport at 4:30 am Friday.
The adrenaline is pumping like mad. I'll post some pictures, but
probably not before Friday.
The only thing I regret is that you all couldn't be there.

Day 3

Today started bright and early
with a trip to Jerusalem where they
visited the Israeli President. They surprised everyone when Kotomitsuki and Kotoshougiku had an apparently
lively bout which ended with Kotomitsuki
throwing Kotoshougiku down on
the hard floor. I wasn't there though, since I needed
the morning to recuperate...
2:45 pm-35 C in the shade, humidity
70%, the guys hit the beach where they had some sessions with kids,
throwing them around and stuff. Loads of pictures and a cool Kotooushuu video
will follow. The rikishi, who are on a tight schedule, finally got some
free time. They hit the water and stayed there for about half an hour,
picking up kids and throwing them into the water on the way. Tug of war
with about 20 kids, where the rope snapped, sending everyone to the
sand. Video exists and will be uploaded tomorrow.
In the evening, a
reception at the Japanese Ambassador's residence. Great food-the guys
finaly ate some food they actually know.
Tomorrow is the big day, with the main event.
I
will be filling you in on exactly what happened. I have the torikumi in
hand-it will be a 12 man knockout tournament- 6, then a three- way
tomoesen.

PS-The most sought -after people for photos:
1. Kotooushuu
2. Kotokanyuu's two baby sons,
2 years old and one year old.
3. Sadogatake Oyakata

Day 2

Sorry for lagging with
the stories, but things are really hectic here,
tight schedules and little sleep. Yesterday, we went to Jerusalem-the
whole Wailing Wall, Via Dolorosa, Christian holy sites, Mount Scopus
routine. Everywhere they go, traffic stops. People just stare, and then
rush up to them with their cell phones to get their pictures taken with
them. Seeing Kotooushuu, Kotomitsuki
and the lads wearing a yarmulka
and sticking
notes in the wall was a sight to behold...

Every one of the
rikishi,(that's everyone...) is more than obliging and patiently gets
photographed. It was very unnaturally hot in Jerusalem yesterday, where
it's usually around a cool 22 degrees C at this time of the year. It
was 32 yesterday.. but everyone braved the heat and did a lot of
walking.
In the afternoon, I went with Kotomitsuki,
Kotomisen and
Kotoyutaka to the TV studios for a live interview on "Yatzpan",
a Jay
Leno/Letterman clone, who is very popular here. He is famous for being
cynical and sarcastic and for making fun of his interview-ees (is that
a word??). I had a great chance to chat with them, especially
Kotomitsuki,
while waiting for our turn.
The interview started with Yatzpan cracking some "fatman'
jokes, but they were quite tame. Then, Kotomisen
and Kotoyutaka proceeded to
show some keiko moves, in their mawashi, the first time a "real"
mawashi was seen in Israel. I asked them to do the moves in a
particular order, culminating, of course, with the ultimate
show-stopper, matawari. The shiko was awesome. Yatzpan suddenly had a
look of wonder on his face. Shikiri, Suri-ashi, and then matawari. At
this point, the crowd went wild. From this point on, Yatzpan's tone of
voice completely changed to one of awe and amazement, and he couldn't
stop smiling till the end of the interview, and of course, no more
"fatman" jokes.. Then he called everyone watching to come to the show
and not miss this "amazing opportunity".All in all, Yatzpan did a great
interview and was very polite.
Afterwards, the guys were
hungry, so we went to a really "in" restaurant bar where all the models
and celebs hang out. When we arrived, no less than 4 different TV
station crews were waiting,. Hey!! This is Sumo!! In Israel?? In two
short days, the rikishi managed to cause quite an interest here. We ate
some strange stuff, and the tired guys went home to sleep for a few
hours- early wake up call- meeting with the President (going on as I
type) in Jerusalem, from which I excused myself.
In a few hours,
there will be a training session on the beach with kids, a tug-of -war,
(rikishi against 40 kids), and general mayhem. I will be there and hope
to get a few pictures.

Day 1

Day 1- Hot, very hot.
And humid. 10 am-producers' meeting and friendly chat with the heya's
administrators.
General mingling in the lobby of the Hilton, a lot of people coming up
and taking pictures.
Noon-Press
conference with the Minister of Tourism. He asks me what to say in
Japanese at the end of the conference. Guess what I suggested..
(Ganbare, Sadogatake Beya..) which was received very well by the
Japanese press. On the whole, a surprising number of reporters were
there, and it went on longer than scheduled, with Kotooushuu giving the
minister a yukata (Kotooushuu
size..). The Minister
was swamped by it and nearly disappeared in its folds.

Then, suddenly-a
power failure. We haven't had that in a long time-it was very hot,
everyone turned on their air conditioners, and something gave-all
Tel-Aviv was without power for a while. Imagine the rikishi, 30 degrees
C and 60% humidity AND no air-con...
Then, food. We went to a famous
Israeli restaurant, where local food (hummus and mountains of meat..)
were served. Everyone ate everything, and another power failure didn't
ruin everyone's good spirits. Kotoyutaka
and Kotootori are the resident
jesters, and they were doing all sorts of stuff, most of them of the
"you had to be there" genre. Kotooushuu proceeded to enter the bar area
and
posed for pictures. He is in a fantastic mood, his parents being here
and all.

After that, they
were supposed to take a tour of Tel-Aviv, but they asked to go
shopping, so we went to a mall. The mall, of course, went crazy at the
site of these guys, and pictures, pictures, pictures.
In the
evening, the Ministry of Tourism held a dinner for them at the hotel,
on a balcony overlooking the beach. The whole heya was spotted gawking
at the incredible sunset.
Big meeting over the dohyo-building-not much time for them to build it
and worried faces can be seen.
This morning at 6 am, I left home for a TV interview on the morning
news. In three hours we'll be leaving for Jerusalem. At 5, a special
taxi will take Kotomitsuki, Kotomisen
and a yet undecided rikishi with me to
a very popular live TV show, where the rikishi will show some moves
while Yatzpan, who is the show host, will probably attempt to make fun
of Kotomitsuki and Sumo, and I
will probably jump all over him and be
forcibly removed from the premises by some bouncer.

Prologue

Sometimes,
unbelievable things happen to you. Sometimes, these things
are "once in a lifetime " things. As a sumo maniac (like most of us
here..), a magical dream is being realized. Forgive me for going
totally overboard. I have no control over the feelings that are
overwhelming me. I sound idiotic. I am not me.
They arrived. 13
rikishi and others, all together about 40 people. I got to meet them at
the plane's door. The 19 hour flight did nothing to their easy-going
and friendly demeanor. Led by Sadogatake
Oyakata with his new hairstyle
(kept it pretty long..), one by one they disembarked. Kotooushuu was first
off, Kotomitsuki behind him,
and Kotoshougiku, then
the
lower rankers.
Ex-Kotozakura was last. After
the long flight, they patiently stood and
had their pictures taken for at least 15 minutes. I managed to chat
with Ex-Kotozakura about the
weather. I told Kotooushuu
that we call him Osh.
He actually smiled (his parents are arriving within the hour..).. I
told Kotomitsuki we were going to be interviewed together on TV on
Monday on
a talk show . I spoke to Makushita (most years in Sumo) Kotokanyuu-he came with his wife and
two small
kids. Kotoshougiku was
simply
surprised that a native knew who he was.
I had a leisurely hour to walk and talk with them and take pictures,
which I hope to post tomorrow.
I am having difficulty describing how much fun I had.
And this is going to last for five days..